headsman

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of headsman Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet. David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012 Even if your reality is the headsman’s block! Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021 Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives. Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland. Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
  • The painting, measuring six feet in width and featuring as its central subject a midcentury executioner’s chair, is estimated around $30 million.
    Angelica Villa for ARTNews, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Jane, who may have been as young as 16, is shown blindfolded as an executioner with an axe waits to behead her.
    Pan Pylas, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • But since taking office, the president has been tightening up his definition of freedom like a hangman’s noose.
    Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Our staff plays hangman to pass some time.
    R29 Team, refinery29.com, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The platform walks people through everything from naming an executor to designating pet guardians, organizing funeral plans, and even uploading photos of valuables.
    Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 May 2025
  • Serving as the executor of an estate is not just an administrative duty.
    Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.D., Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Torque is described as a true monster, a talented and elusive hijacker and murderer who faked his own death a decade prior.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 17 May 2025
  • Eight of the escapees, including a murderer and a man charged with murder, remain on the lam after the breakout, which the sheriff says may have been aided by members within her department.
    Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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